BIO 550 What is the difference between summarizing and critiquing an article?
Sample Answer for BIO 550 What is the difference between summarizing and critiquing an article? Included After Question
DQ1 Why is it necessary to critique research literature? Justify your rationale.
DQ2 What is the difference between summarizing and critiquing an article? Present supportive details in your explanation.
Most academic articles or books will put forward a claim or an argument of some kind.
This might be explicit, such as those in argumentative papers, or the authors might use
argumentative techniques in their discussion of data and results.
When critiquing an argumentative article or book, which do not follow a research
report structure, you will need to critique how the argument is made. Some critical
questions to ask yourself about the argument include:
• Does the author clearly state their argument or thesis?
• Does the author provide reasonable premises (supporting points) that will support their argument?
• Is the theoretical position or framework justified and does it seem appropriate?
• Does the author acknowledge assumptions or bias in their argument? If not, can you identify bias or
assumptions?
• Is each supporting premise supported with credible and viable evidence?
• What literature are they drawing on? Have they overlooked anything?
• Does the author use problematic argument techniques such as slippery slopes or logical fallacies?
• Are any key issues overlooked?
• Does the author make any assumptions or generalisations?
• Does each point clearly and logically lead to the author’s conclusion?
CRITIQUING RESEARCH ARTICLES
When critiquing research articles, it is useful to ask yourself questions about the purpose of each component
of the article, and whether it achieves that purpose.
THE TITLE
The title should be descriptive enough to give you a clear idea about what the research deals with.
Ask yourself:
• Does the title clearly indicate what the research is about, without being extremely long or too short
to be informative?
• Are the variables or theoretical issues and any relationships between them stated?
THE INTRODUCTION
The introduction should orientate the reader to the study by introducing the question/problem, introducing
the background of the study, and clearly stating the background and rationale of the research.
Ask yourself:
• Is the research question/problem researchable?
• Is the problem important enough to justify the research?
• Is the background of the research relevant to the research question?
• Is the aim clearly stated and focused on one main idea?
• Do you have a clear idea of what the study tried to achieve?
THE LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review should give an overview of the available literature which frames or surrounds the
problem being researched. It should look at the similarities and differences between the literature, as well
as the strengths and limitations. It should illustrate how the current study fits into the existing framework of
research or how it fills a gap in the literature.
Ask yourself:
• Is the literature review broad, yet focused on the issue?
• Is there historical as well as contemporary material to put the area of study into a context?
• Is there convincing evidence to support assertions?
• Does it fairly represent opposing views?
• Does the literature review use a theoretical framework?
• Does it reveal gaps in the knowledge which this research will fill?
THE METHODS AND RESEARCH DESIGN
This section should clearly state what the researcher did and how it was done, allowing the reader to
evaluate the methods used, the consistency, the reliability of the study, its validity and whether it could be
replicated. As a minimum, there should be a brief synopsis of the research approach taken.
Ask yourself:
• Is there a clear rationale for the chosen research approach, methods and/or instruments used?
• Is the research method appropriate for the research question?
• Was the collection of data appropriate for the research question?
• Was process of obtaining ethics clearance and how ethical standards were maintained clear?
• Is there enough information concerning the participants? Do they represent the research well? If
any participants did not complete the study, was this explained? Were details of major
demographic information made evident, e.g., geographical location, gender, age?
• Were any instruments or apparatus identified and described? If any apparatus were obtained or
donated by a commercial source, was it stated?
• Were any control features in the research design stated?
• Are any limitations of the study discussed?
• Were any ambiguous terms used?
DATA ANALYSIS (also known as the ‘Results and Findings’ section)
This section should contain a summary the main results and findings in enough detail so that the reader can
understand how the conclusions have been reached. In qualitative research, illustrative samples of data are
frequently used. In quantitative data, individual scores or raw data are not discussed. All relevant data,
including that which runs counter to the hypothesis, should be discussed. The reader should be made clear as
to what the data provided means and why it is important.
Ask yourself:
• Were the steps involved in the data analysis explained and the strategies justified?
• Was the data analysis rigorous enough to substantiate the claims?
• Were all data taken into account? If not, why not?
• Are the presented results relevant to the research question?
• Do the tables and graphs (if any) make the data analysis clearer?
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CRITIQUING LITERATURE THE DISCUSSION
In this section, the implications of the research results are evaluated and interpreted in relation to the research
question. This is where the findings and the selected theoretical framework come together. The discussion
should contain a clear statement of support or otherwise of the original hypothesis or research question. The
results of this study and those of other studies should be discussed, and any suggestions for improvements or
further research are made here.
There should be no repetition of points already made in other sections.
Ask yourself:
• Have the results been interpreted in relation to the research question and aims?
• Have the results been discussed with reference to the research question, hypothesis (if applicable)
and theoretical or conceptual frameworks?
• Have conclusions and/or recommendations been appropriately drawn from the data analysis?
• Did the researcher highlight the most important results?
• Have the results been used to support or refute the results of other studies?
• How relevant and useful are the results to practice?
CONCLUSION
This section should summarise the main points and indicate the usefulness of the research. It should not include
any new information. Areas for future research may be suggested.
Ask yourself:
• Were the main points drawn out?
• Were fresh insights or a new perspective on the topic demonstrated?
• Have any recommendations been made based on the research?
• Were there any suggestions for future research?
REFERENCE LIST OR BIBLIOGRAPHY
This should contain a list of all sources referred to in the article (in the case of a reference list) or all sources
actually accessed in preparation for the article (in the case of a bibliography).
Ask yourself:
• Are all sources cited clearly and with full bibliographic details provided?
• Has a wide range of works in the field been referred to?
• Does the list contain both seminal (classic) and more contemporary literature?
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For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation
Welcome to class
Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to
I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.
Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.
If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.
Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.
Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.
I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Hi Class,
Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Important information on Writing a Discussion Question
- Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
- There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
- Include in-text citations in your response
- Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
- Follow APA-7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor
- A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
- Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
- Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
- Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
- Follow APA 7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
- Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
- Here are some helpful links
- Student paper example
- Citing Sources
- The Writing Center is a great resource